This disclosure relates to separating constituents of a fluid mixture, and more particularly to systems and methods for separating constituents of a fluid mixture having disparate densities.
In many industries, there is a need to separate a fluid mixture into one or more of its constituents. For example, in producing hydrocarbons from a well, water and particulate solids, such as sand, are produced together with the hydrocarbons. It is not desirous to have either of these byproducts present in the hydrocarbons. Therefore, well operators have implemented numerous techniques to separate the water and sand from the produced hydrocarbons.
One conventional technique for removing sand from the hydrocarbons is to install sand screens in the production pipe inside the well bore. A sand screen is screen including one or more layers of mesh sized to prevent passage of sand into an interior of the screen. Sand screens have been used successfully for many years; however, like any filter, they are subject to clogging and plugging, for example, as the screen's mesh fills with sand and other particulate.
In the past, water has been filtered from the produced hydrocarbons or separated in a free-water knockout separator. Filters, like sand screens, are prone to clogging and plugging. Free-water knockout separators are large vessels that separate the water and hydrocarbons by allowing the water to settle vertically downward and out of the hydrocarbons. The separated water is subsequently withdrawn from the bottom of the vessel. Free-water knockout separators are generally slow at separating the water from hydrocarbons, because they rely on the water settling vertically downward and out of the hydrocarbons.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods of separating constituents of a fluid mixture.